Buckle Up for Life: Watch this video to learn how to install a child car seat

Research shows that three out of four child car seats are not installed properly.*

Toyota believes that everyone deserves to be safe. Which is why, in 2004, we partnered with Cincinnati Children's to create Buckle Up for Life, a safety education program to address alarming, but preventable, statistics like that one. We're proud to say that in one city, the program nearly tripled the number of children properly buckled up among families who participated.

In recognition of everyone who participates in the campaign, Toyota will donate 10,000 child car seats to families in need.

Because we believe that when it comes to our children, safety should have no restraint.

*According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

UPDATE #1
We began the Buckle Up for Life campaign to address a critical public health issue - many parents who thought they were taking the right precautions to protect their children in cars, didn't have all the facts. Thanks to your tremendous efforts watching and sharing our video (http://www.causes.com/BuckleUp) with friends, we've managed to educate 30,884 people with vital information that can help save children's lives. In recognition of everyone who participated in the campaign, Toyota is donating 10,000 child car seats to families in need.

UPDATE #2
Reyna Hernandez knows all too well the importance of seatbelts. As a young child, she was in a terrible crash. Tragically, she wasn't buckled and sustained severe injuries. After several months of recovery at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital Medical Center and many years of therapy and surgeries, Reyna learned to walk again and even went on to graduate from Harvard Law School.

But not all children are as fortunate as Reyna. Research shows that three out of four child car seats are not installed properly. Additionally, research shows that African American and Hispanic children are as much as 10 times less likely than Caucasian children to be restrained in a vehicle, putting them at far greater risk of injury and even death.

Buckle Up For Life is a community-based safety education program created by trauma specialists at Cincinnati Children's and vehicle safety experts at Toyota. With the help of local hospitals and churches, the program educates at-risk communities on critical safety behaviors and empowers them with the resources to keep children safe and secure.

Because all children deserve to be safe, Toyota and Cincinnati Children's have partnered with Causes on a campaign to raise awareness of child passenger safety with parents and caregivers of all backgrounds and ethnicities. Help your friends and loved ones make child passenger safety a priority by sharing Buckle Up for Life's short video on proper car seat installation. In recognition of everyone who participates in the campaign, Toyota will donate 10,000 child car seats to families in need.

You may not be a parent yourself, but someone you care about certainly is. Raising awareness (http://www.causes.com/BuckleUp?open_inviter=true) is one of the easiest ways we can help keep more kids safe and help prevent needless tragedies from happening on the road.

UPDATE #3
"Years ago, a mother who was involved in a car crash in which her child died said something to me: 'If I only knew.'"- Dr. Victor Garcia

Now in eight cities across the U.S., Buckle Up for Life works with local hospitals and churches to educate families on vital safety topics, including properly installing and using child car seats. Thanks to Toyota, families who participate in the program are eligible to receive free car seats.

Here are three child passenger safety tips from Buckle Up for Life:
* All children should sit in rear-facing car seats until they turn two.
* Toddlers should use forward-facing car seats with a harness until they reach the height/weight limit specified on the seat.
* Seat belts should lie across the upper thighs and be snug across the shoulders and chests to restrain children safely in case of a crash.

Please invite your friends and loved ones (http://www.causes.com/BuckleUp?open_inviter=true) to watch Buckle Up for Life's short video on proper car seat installation. In recognition of everyone who participates, Toyota will donate 10,000 child car seats to families in need.

For every person who gets the facts, you can help ensure that one less parent will ever have to say "If only I knew..."